The PGA Tour will tee off this week with the The ZoZo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino CCO in Japan. Many top golfers won’t be participating but there are still tons of ways to play the field. How will it all shake out? WagerTalk golf handicapper Andy Lang shares his thoughts on the field with betting tips, DFS recommendations and players to avoid.
The ZoZo Championship Course | Accordia Golf Narashino CCO
The Zozo takes place at the Accordia Golf Narashino CCO in Japan, and the course is a 7100 yard Par 70 with two reachable Par 5’s, one long Par 5, and a mixture of short and long Par 4’s with 5 Par 3’s as well. I love this course because they have double greens on a couple holes, which is unique, and the course features lots of trees, but the trees are a bit far off the fairway so if you hit it into the trees it means your drive was pretty terrible. The fairways and greens should be soft so expect solid approaches from the fairway, and the rough isn’t too deep so expect scores to be in the mid teens. It’s a no cut event with a smaller field, so if you’re surprised why the odds on top 20s and top 40s are crazy, that’s why.
Top 10 Total Strokes Gained Last 6 Months
- Xander Schauffele
- Rickie Fowler
- Collin Morikawa
- Adam Scott
- Sungjae Im
- Keegan Bradley
- Eric Cole
- Cameron Davis
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Min Woo Lee
Players to Avoid
Xander Schauffle -He’s the highest priced golfer this week, but this is guy who hasn’t finished better than 9th at this tournament, and has finished 17th, 28th and 9th the last three years here. He’s #1 in total strokes gained in this field, but he’s coming off the strange Ryder Cup situation where him and Cantlay were outed for complaining about not being paid good enough for the Ryder Cup. He should play well here, but I’m not willing to invest in him as the highest priced favorite in this field.
Collin Morikawa -I’ll fade the second highest priced golfer this week as well, as Morikawa has the worst putting stats of all the big name guys in this field. He’s -0.16 strokes gained putting the last three months, and he’s finished 22nd, 50th, 7th and 45th in four years playing here. It’s tough to not believe in the top two highest priced golfers in a tournament, but won’t be betting on Schauffele or Morikawa.
Nicolai Hojgaard -I have to mention Hojgaard as a golfer to fade as he is getting attention for being on the European Ryder Cup team, but he finsihed 56th last week (well below his pre tournament price), and while his price is much lower this week, I won’t be betting on him as I think his peak was a few weeks ago and regression for him is here.
The ZoZo Championship DFS Darlings
Keita Nakajima ($6,800) – Good player from the Japanese Tour, and he has finished 12th and 28th the last two years here. His putting stats are awful, but with this being a no-cut tourney, and his good finishes here I’ll put him in at this price.
Cameron Champ ($7,100) – He has finished 9th and 18th two weeks in a row, and has played here twice and finished 8th both times. I like the quote I saw from him talking about how he’s in a much better place mentally with his game. He’s worth putting in a lineup
Joel Dahmen ($7,200) – 7th and 13th place finishes the last two weeks, and 16th here last year makes him a great priced golfer in your lineup.
The ZoZo Championship Betting Notes
- Keegan Bradley is the only player to finish Top 10 the last two years here -Emiliano Grillo is 22nd in total strokes gained in this field the last 3 months, but has missed the cut the last 2 weeks
- Cameron Davis has 5 Top 10 finishes in his last 6 tournaments